THIS Irish couple have been living the dream in their renovated van travelling Europe for the last two months.
After investing around €6,500 in their home away from home, Enda Coll has some words of advice for anyone hoping to follow in his footsteps.
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Enda, 26, and Aileen Ryan, 24 took to the road in May and have since travelled the sights of Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. The pair have saved a fortune on accommodation during their once in a lifetime trip thanks to their van.
Enda and Aileen began renovating their van two years ago and it is now fitted with a bed, kitchen, bathroom and running water.
Donegal native Enda said: “It wasn’t as expensive as we thought. We spread out the costs throughout the couple of years that we were doing the van.
“The van itself, the conversion, paying for the different tax, it worked out at about €6,500 between us. I know people have spent a lot more than that but I know people have gone a lot more overboard than we did with ours.
“I did all the work myself and one of the biggest cost saving things was Aileen’s dad has a shed full of tools so we didn’t have to buy any to do the conversion.”
For anyone inspired to give van life a go themselves, Enda had some advice.
He said: “I would tell people to do their own research. Think about the work that goes into it.
“I’m not an expert on the building but I had a rough enough guide from woodwork in school. Apart from that I had no knowledge, so YouTube would be the best place to start for anyone looking to do it.”
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When it comes to life on the road, Enda said people should reconsider completely quitting their jobs.
He said: “The second thing, I know there’s a lot of TikTokers and people out there saying ‘you should quit your job and go travelling.
“But you don’t really need to quit your job nowadays especially if you’re remote. I’m not completely travelling, I’m also working three days a week. There’s money coming in there and it’s never been more possible to do that.
“Some people might not be able to get three days a week but it’s still possible to enjoy the travelling element while also working.
FREE ACCOMODATION
“If you can do that I would advise to do that rather than completely quitting your job, up and moving your life away. It’s definitely something worth doing and really gives you a perspective on what work life should be.”
But for the Irishman, without a doubt the best thing about living in the van is the cost free freedom to travel.
He explained: “The best part is that we’re getting to see so much more than we would on a normal holiday and we’re getting to see parts of these countries that you wouldn’t get to see because there’s no airport or it might be too expensive to go and visit it.
“There’s been times where we have stayed in vineyards in France for free of charge because the owners allow you to park there where if you were going on holidays you could spend a couple of hundred euros a night in a hotel or AirBnB just to be in the place.
“So the best part is you save so much money on accommodation costs and we’ve been to about maybe 35, 40 places in past two and a half months.
However he joked that there’s one home comfort they are struggling to do without.
Enda said: “In terms of home comforts, we are absolutely gagging for a chinese. We can’t wait to get home and get a three in one.”
To learn more about Enda and Aileen’s travels check out their Instagram @where_to_wander_.
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